Saturday, June 4, 2016

12 Things That Require No Talent (But Make You an Awesome Person)

I recently saw this awesome photo on Instagram
featuring 10 Things That Require No
Talent and I thought I would expound on this list as well as add an extra
of my own. Because being an awesome person doesn't take a lot of brains or raw talent. However, it might take a little work, effort, and sensitivity...but we'll get into that.

1.
Punctuality – So, I am not the best at being on
time 100% of the time. I tend to come rushing in at the last second or be
running a few minutes behind. Then there are the rare days when I make up for
all my tardiness by showing up thirty minutes to an hour early. But being on
time is not only kind and considerate to your friends and coworkers, it is also
a kindness to yourself. I don’t like being late. It sets me back, stresses me
out, and disorients me for the better part of my day. Consistency and dependability
are important. Showing up on time is important, giving your boss notice when a
crisis emerges or you’re sick is also important. Be reliable. Be on time. Be
consistent.

2.
Work Ethic – I never considered myself someone
with an intense work ethic. In fact, I am pretty sure I was one of the laziest
kids in high school. Not only that but I have always been a huge
procrastinator. Over the last few years I have discovered the many benefits of
continually working hard and how
simple it really is. It doesn’t take a prodigy to get out of bed every morning
and go to work, come home and do the laundry, wash the dishes, etc. When I am
tempted to put off a task, hit the snooze button (again), or forego completing
a chore, I remind myself that ultimately I will regret this decision tomorrow
when the job is still waiting for me.
I also remind myself that other people depend on the work I do and when I
procrastinate and fail to follow through, I disappoint and hinder the people in
my life.

3.
Effort – You don’t have to possess copious amounts of
talent to put a good effort forward.
Too often we get hung up on our lack of talent and we let this keep us from
even trying. I don’t push for perfection in my piano students as much as I push
for practice and trying again and performing even
when you don’t have it perfect. Put forth effort every single day, even if you
haven’t been blessed with an abundance of genius or talent. Effort will not
necessarily give you an advantage over someone with more talent, but it is a
commendable quality in and of itself. Put forth effort every day and you will
not disappoint yourself.

4.
Body Language – I hesitated to include this on the
list. Body language does not take talent as
much as it takes intuition. Maybe you
are not naturally intuitive, but all it takes is a little of the above effort we discussed to develop a little
more awareness and sensitivity to control how your body language effects those
around you. I could write a whole post on body
language, but for now I will leave you with one helpful tip—when someone is
talking to you, listen and show them
that you are listening by watching them and responding with your looks and
gestures as they talk. Don’t constantly glance at your phone during
conversations. Be engaged. Be all there.

5.
Energy – Once again, energy does not take inherent
talent, but it does take a little effort.
Some people are born with an abundance of energy. Others, like me, get easily
drained of our limited supply of energy, especially if we fail to take proper
care of ourselves. When I don’t eat well and fail to stay hydrated, my energy
plummets and with that my mood. Consequently, everything else suffers. Take care
of yourself. Sleep well every night. Stay hydrated. Don’t eat junk. Your body
will thank you and so will everybody else.

6.
Humility – You should never make a doormat of yourself,
but there is something to be said for never being too good or too talented for
the simplest, meager jobs. For instance, my boss is great at taking on the
small menial tasks whenever he can, tasks like turning the lights on and off at
the start and close of a day, turning on the coffee pot, making coffee, etc.
The smallest jobs are often the underappreciated and overlooked jobs, the ones
that are taken for granted and the more qualified we are, the more we might be
tempted to convince ourselves that we are too good for those kinds of jobs.
When you see a need, be quick to fill it, even the job seems beneath you, even
if you go without any thanks. Trust me; your willing attitude will not go
overlooked.

7.
Passion – I used to think passion was reserved for the
boldly successful, ingeniously creative, brilliant, and highly educated people.
But passion can be exhibited in the smallest of tasks, no matter how menial or
inconsequential the task may seem. Whatever you do, do it well, and be
passionate about doing it well.

8.
Being Coachable – This point goes right along with
humility. I don’t care how talented or smart you are. If you always have to be right, I don’t want to
work with you and no one else does either. Be willing to learn something new
and be willing to be corrected. Adaptability is one of the most esteemed qualities
in the work force and all the rest of life. I think Proverbs also has something
to say about the wise man accepting reproof. Being coachable is about
maintaining a humble and adaptable attitude, but it’s also about being willing
to reform your habits and actions if need be.

9.
Go the Extra Mile – Doing what you are supposed to do
is great, but do you know what is even better? Going the extra mile. Doing extra communicates genuine care and interest.
You are not simply concerned with doing what’s expected of you, or doing your
job, you are more concerned about making the people in your life genuinely
happy and satisfied. There are few qualities as unattractive as someone who refuses
to do more than the minimum of what
is expected of them and then on the rare occasion when they do something extra, they do
it very begrudgingly.

10.
Being Prepared – And this is the point when everyone
raises questionable eyebrows and asks if I am really qualified to write this
post. Didn’t I just mention that I am a terrible procrastinator? And it follows
that as a chronic procrastinator, I am rarely prepared for anything. But the
fact of the matter is, I love to be prepared and I hate showing up to life
unprepared. I am a procrastinator, but I hate procrastinating and I hate being
a procrastinator. There’s nothing satisfying about waiting until the last minute
and showing up unprepared. I hate not knowing what to expect and there is no
worse feeling than feeling others cannot reliably have expectations of me. The
first key to succeeding at life is showing
up every day. The second key is showing
up prepared.

11. A Sense of Humor - Being able to laugh at your circumstances and at yourself from time to time is essential for thriving in this world. It's too easy to get hung up on your mistakes or to let life stress you out. There is a time to be serious and solemn, especially when you've done something wrong and you should have done better. But we all make mistakes. We all embarrass ourselves. It's okay to look like a fool every now and then. It's better to take risks, look like a fool, and laugh at yourself later than it is to never try because you're worried about what people might think of you. Besides, everyone loves a person with a sense of humor. My favorite people at the workplace and favorite friends to be with are the ones who make me laugh. These are the people who inevitably lighten the mood, cheer up your day, and motivate you to do a good job.

12.
Kindness – This is my addition to this helpful
list because being kind does not take talent. All it takes is a smile, gentle
respectful words, and some forethought and consideration here and there. It
takes a little more awareness and sensitivity. Once again, even if this doesn’t
come naturally to you, put forth the effort to put yourself in someone else’s
shoes each day. Before you know it, you’ll be a pro. Being kind and gracious
does not cost you anything and it enriches the lives of everyone around you.

There you have it! Now go be awesome.

What do you think of this list of awesome attributes? Is there anything else you would add to this list?

14 comments
:

This is such a great list and idea. I love it. What you said about being coachable reminded me about a book I read recently called The Leader in You (great book btw), how the most successful people are the ones who genuinely want to learn and whoes attitude towards mistakes is to view them like gifts, because they're opportunities to grow & become better. And I love that you added kindness. It's my favorite. xx

Kindness and humility are some of my favorites too! They are great starting points for everything else. If you walk through the world with humility and kindness, you will go far and make great changes wherever you go.

A great list, and things we all need to remind ourselves of every day. My biggest challenge on this list is energy. Everything mentioned is intertwined, but without feeling energetic, it is extremely difficult to be an awesome person. I get that "I don't care", attitude and the best thing I can do for anyone is go to bed. I have spent a lot of time working on this over the past year and a half. Things are easier for certain.Thanks for the great post Dani, and enjoy your week!

Andrea, energy is one of my biggest weaknesses too (right after showing up on time;) ). I've gotten better over the years about taking care of myself, though I'm still recovering from all the bad habits I formulated in college. It's not easy especially when you're trying to break bad habits, but failing to take care of yourself can have some of the most detrimental consequences, not like I'm speaking from experience or anything. ;)

The Author

Welcome to my blog! My name is Dani Fisher. I am a blogger out of central Oklahoma, a college student, and a proud mama of my husky, Dierdre. A few topics you will see frequent on my blog include friendship, love, relationships, grief, loss, religion, and faith. See the "About the Author" page for more info about me and my blog!!